Gresini Racing, Marc Marquez: “My toughest adversary? Myself”

For Marc Marquez, going from a factory team like Repsol Honda to a privateer squad like Gresini Racing is a huge change, made so that he can attempt to enjoy himself again on the bike and feel the ‘butterflies in the stomach’ that he’s been missing over the last years at Honda.

“It feels a little strange”, begins Marquez from the stage at Cocoricò as he speaks to Sky’s Cristiana Buonamano. “After so many years on the same team, it’s a really great challenge. I spent a very busy day yesterday at the Gresini base, I’m pleased. I heard what Alex said before, but that’s all a strategy (he laughs), he finished the year really well.”

As for his initial sensations aboard the Desmosedici, he explains: “I’ve only had one day on the bike (50 laps at the Valencia test) but I immediately felt good, I’m curious and keen to get to Sepang and make more laps. I know it’s a track where I’ll struggle, I still need to understand many things, understand the team. I’m like a kid with new shoes trying to learn everything.”

“The aim is to have fun again", says the Spaniard. "I've won a lot but the last 3-4 years have been very difficult. Team Gresini was the only one to wait and give me the time to decide, and when they saw I was ready, we worked it out. It’s a risky challenge for me but great for team Gresini.”

Marc then talks about his day at the Gresini factory and Museo Ducati: “So different to what I’m used to. I visited the Ducati Factory and Museum, I spent time with team Gresini, we had dinner together and played Padel, even though I don’t know how to play. I really like to create a good group with my team, I still have a lot of friends at Honda. Team Gresini is made up of wonderful people, we’ll try to grow step by step without overdoing it.”

Marquez closes by touching on his 2024 rivals: “My toughest adversary right now is myself, because the expectations and pressure is very high, I have a lot of work to do. Bagnaia and Martin are my targets, they’re the strongest Ducati riders and make the difference, I need to learn a lot from them about how to ride the Ducati.”

Marc dreams of a 2024 different to 2020

In the press conference following the presentation, the Spaniard again talks about being on the same team as brother Alex: “I hope this year’s different to 2020, the year everything changed. The future has it that we’re back together but on a different team. I hope we can have fun during the year but on track we’ll be with our respective teams in the garage. Alex shouldn’t raise his bar because I’m there, he needs to be realistic and work to feel like a MotoGP rider.”

As for the work method with new crew chief Frankie Carchedi, Marc explains: “We only worked together at Valencia but we spent some time together yesterday, trying to understand each other’s work methods. Both Santi (Hernandez, his former crew chief) and Frankie are successful, I hate to draw comparisons, everybody has their own style and the only thing I care about is performance and results.”

Riding style and approach

As for his riding style aboard the Ducati, he explains: “At Valencia I rode very smoothly, I don’t know if that will be my style, it was only a first test and I also rode with a setup I didn’t know. I just asked the team to put another rider’s setting and told them I’d try to adapt without touching anything, just little things to have more confidence in the front. I rode ‘smoothly’ because I didn’t want to be aggressive and seek out the engine limit right away. I’m curious to test the bike at tracks I’ve always struggled at in the past, like Sepang and Qatar, it will be important to understand the level.”

As for the Valencia test, Marc explains for the first time how he was able to be so fast: “At Valencia I immediately felt comfortable and the time came because I got on well with the bike and on the one lap when I pushed, the time came easily. But I’m always fast at Valencia, so it was a good way to begin. I only had one bike in the garage and worked calmly as I didn’t want the test to end because of a crash.”

As for his approach this year, the Spaniard admits: “I hope not to crash too much. I did a lot of that during the second half of the year when I wasn’t even fighting for anything. But the Ducati riders crashed a lot too.”

Special relationship between Marquez and Dovizioso

Close to the team Gresini HQ is a new MX track owned by Andrea Dovizioso, a rider with whom Marc continues to have a good relationship. “I was thinking about calling Dovi this morning and getting some laps in at his track before coming here, but there wasn’t time. I’d definitely like to spend a day riding with him at his track.”

Leaving Honda, the injuries, and the goals for HRC

As he’s said on several occasions, Marc left Honda to try and run at the front again, something he rarely did over the last two years. “The ambition is the same as in 2013”, says Marquez, “if I I’m here it’s because I still have chance to fight for the top 5. To fight for the title you have to be perfect in everything, but I think I can still fight for the top 5. I chose this direction in order to extend my career, the easy solution was to stay put at Honda with less pressure and more money in the bank. Perhaps I’ll go back in the future but that isn’t just up to me to decide.”

“I’ve had a relaxed winter”, Marc adds. “Since 2018, every winter was spent doing rehab for my shoulder or arm. I’ll try not to get injured, my latest results weren't down to Honda as much as my injuries.”

As for the team’s goals, he concludes: “When Gresini hires a rider they know he can do well, they took a risk waiting for my decision until October. I think we can do well but we need to take it step by step. As for Honda, they’ve changed their project leader and I think they’ll get there, but I don’t know how long it will take. It was a risk for my career, but I thought that leaving was for the best .”